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Companion (J^bitmrb *£*„ Jerome* 



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Edwin McMasters Stanton, 

The Great War Secretary. 



BY EDWARD SPARROW JEROME. 



The year 1869 was marked by several events of prime interest and 
importance, both at home and abroad. It witnessed the inauguration 
at Washington of the hero of the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant, as 
President of these United States. It witnessed the induction into office 
of that other hero, Charles W. Eliot, whose career as president of 
Harvard has been as striking, as brilliant and as successful in peace as 
Grant's was in war. It witnessed the great engineering feat of binding 
the East and the West together forever by means of iron bands, the 
completion of the first transcontinental railway being formally con- 
cluded by the driving of the last spike, a golden one, near Ogden, 
Utah. Abroad, the larger East was as firmly bound to the larger 
West by the opening of the Suez Canal; and Africa ceased to be a Dark 
Continent. 

These great events were peaceful; constructive; and added to the 
happiness, the prosperity, the progress not only of our own people but 
of the world at large. But alas! other events took place. Death as 
well as Life was busy. // is not constructive; it can never be aught 
but destructive! It claimed the Father of Philanthropy, George 
Peabody; another victim was John Bell, one of Lincoln's rivals in '60 
for the presidency; ex-President Pierce was laid with his fathers; 
William Pitt Fessenden, thought by Blaine to have been the ablest 
senator ever chosen by the Republican party, passed away; and last — 



not least but the greatest of these, Edwin M. Stanton, the Great War 
Secretary, was mustered out at the early age of fifty-five! 

Great war secretaries, or ministers, like angels' visits, are few and 
far between! In all her modern history, with its innumerable wars, 
England has had but one — William Pitt the Elder, — Cromwell was his 
own minister; France but two — Louvois and Niel, for Napoleon like 
Cromwell was his own servant; Prussia only one, Von Roon. Our 
revolutionary struggle was carried on without a real head or war 
secretary, hence Washington's endless troubles and sorrows. Knox 
was an able lieutenant, but scarcely an executive force. The war of 
1812 was fought under Madison, a civilian who grew more and more 
timid as the war progressed. Monroe and others were in the war 
office, but there was little leadership and co-operation; and we actually 
suffered the humiliation of seeing a British force occupy Washington 
and burn the White House! Taylor and Scott fought the war with 
Mexico, though Secretary Marcy's conduct of his office was energetic 
and efficient. 

But it remained for our civil war to bring forward and develop a 
truly great war minister, one of heroic mold worthy to rank with the 
greatest men of his time, of all time! There were giants in those days 
and he easily measured up to them. Lincoln, Seward, Chase and 
Stanton were giants in the Cabinet, even as Grant, Sherman, Sheridan 
and Thomas were giants in the field. Farragut, Porter, Foote and 
Dupont ruled the wave, even as Sumner and Fessenden did the Senate; 
as Stevens and Colfax did the House. We Ohioans take a natural 
pride, a peculiar pleasure in recalling that Stanton was born upon our 
soil. Let us glance briefly at his early life here and elsewhere, and 
see how he came to be called at the eleventh hour into Buchanan's 
cabinet to assist in preserving the union; how he became Lincoln's 
great servant and right hand man; and how he initiated, carried 
forward and completed measures which crushed the rebellion and 
brought peace to our distracted country! 

Stanton, like Grant, Sherman and Sheridan, first saw the light of 
day in the Buckeye state. On Monday, December 19, 1814, "a day 
turbulent, chilly and full of driving snow," he was born at Steuben- 
ville, the first child of Dr. David and Lucy Norman Stanton. Samuel 
J. Tilden came into the world earlier in the year; Henry Ward 
Beecher, General Fremont and Stephen A. Douglas the year before. 



3 

Their's was the only decade in one hundred and thirty years, 1731 to 
1861, which produced no president! Stanton's birth atoned for this 
omission. He was a small and puny babe and so continued for three 
years; at four he became more rugged and was fairly so throughout 
his life, though with a decided tendency to asthma. He was a pre- 
cocious child, a student from the beginning; had a religious turn and 
was very earnest and honest. He joined the Methodist Church when 
barely twelve years of age. Says one, "He was frank and manly and 
impressed all as being sincere. He did not hang his head and hesi- 
tate, but rose promptly to give his confession." Says another, "He 
was always a man, always aimed at something high and never spent 
an idle moment. Was a good talker and from boxes and barrels in 
his father's stable displayed his eloquence to his playmates." 

When Edwin was thirteen his father died, suddenly, leaving a 
small estate and making it necessary for the mother to open a general 
store. The boy continued his studies, assisting her the while. 
Securing a place in a book-store and publishing house, the only fault 
found with him was his inordinate love of reading thereby causing 
customers to wait! At seventeen he entered Kenyon College, having 
decided upon a profession. Associate Justice David Davis was a 
fellow student. Kenyon was known as The Star in the West, and 
under the personal direction of Bishop Chase, Stanton thus came to 
know the Episcopal Church, which in later years he joined. His 
college life was severe and primitive — the buildings stood in an 
unbroken forest; but he studied hard and attained high rank. He 
combated with vehemence the doctrine of nullification in the debating 
society, anticipating by thirty years his conduct in the war office. 
But few college pranks were laid at his door, the worst being the 
unauthorized use at night of the good Bishop's horse. Unfortunately 
his funds gave out and he was forced to leave college in a year and a 
half without graduating; but he always had a warm spot in his heart 
for Kenyon and sent his son thither. Having decided upon the law, 
he pursued his studies with energy, "but giving no time to hunting, 
fishing nor recreation." Life was indeed real and earnest to him. He 
was admitted to the bar when slightly under age and .sprang into 
active practice at once. Thenceforward his course was upward and 
onward. His reputation as a lawyer widened until fame came to 
him; the legislature elected him supreme court reporter; he won good 



fees and prosperity was his; he had made a happy marriage and his 
home life was ideal. 

About this time he began to take an active part in politics on the 
Democratic side. He was a delegate to several of their state conven- 
tions and served on committees; and was even a delegate to their 
national convention held in Baltimore in 1840. His law partner, Senator 
Tappan, was prominent in the party and a personal friend of Van 
Buren's; hence Stanton put forth mighty efforts to carry Ohio for 
him. The defeat of Van Buren in that campaign and in convention 
four years later, coupled with the death of his adored wife, caused 
Stanton to bury himself the more deeply in the law, his other mis- 
tress. His success in the case of McNulty, in which he made his first 
appearance in Washington, established his reputation as a master 
jurist at the early age of thirty-one! 

Although favoring the Mexican war and presenting resolutions at 
a mass meeting pledging support to Polk's administration in its prose- 
cution, Stanton was bitterly hostile to slavery. Not only had he been 
brought up in an "atmosphere of religious kindness and generous hos- 
pitality," but of abolitionism as well. His father had been the early 
teacher and friend of Benjamin Lundy, strongly supporting him with 
funds and sympathy. Lundy, many years the senior of Garrison, was 
the first to establish anti-slavery periodicals and to deliver anti-slavery 
lectures. Doctor Stanton's strongest trait, next to the love of his 
profession, was hatred of slavery. It is easy, therefore, to believe that 
the father made the boy swear eternal hostility to it, even as Hamilcar 
made his son Hannibal vow deathless warfare against Rome! 

Stanton's growing law practice called him East a great deal; he 
therefore opened an office in Pittsburg the better to care for it in 1847. 
For nearly ten years it was his headquarters, and busy years they were. 
He again appeared in Van Buren's interest in 1848, supporting him as 
a Free Soil candidate against Cass, the regular Democratic nominee. 
If he had not the pleasure of seeing the former triumph, he had the 
satisfaction of seeing the latter defeated. The editor of the Pittsburg 
Post, the Democratic organ, a life long friend, said he never took seri- 
ous stock in Stanton's democracy. "He was more of a student than a 
politician; and after his professional reputation became strong took no 
interest in partisan controversies except as they involved his friends or 
clients. Law, law, law, was his god, his mistress, and there he never 



ceased to worship. He always was opposed to slavery extension and 
to slavery itself." We have in these words the key to Stanton's life, 
private and public; they sum up his character and explain his astound- 
ing success in the war department! 

His practice in Pittsburg, where he was already well known, was 
large and lucrative. He was retained in nearly every great case, one 
of which The State of Pennsylvania vs. The Wheeling and Belmont 
Bridge Company gave him lasting fame. The question was one of the 
obstruction of the Ohio River and, necessarily, of interstate commerce 
regulation. Stanton brought suit to abate the bridge as a public 
nuisance, as an obstruction to free commerce between the states and a 
damage to the general welfare. He was admitted to practice before 
the United States Supreme Court on the motion of Attorney General 
Johnson, and argued the case before the full bench. It dragged on 
for several years, the court finally deciding in favor of Stanton with 
costs. The fact that Congress came to the relief of the bridge com- 
pany in no way impaired Stanton's reputation. He had contended 
for the right of Congress to regulate interstate commerce in every pos- 
sible form; and the theories he then advanced are now cardinal prin- 
ciples and fully embodied in the law of the country. Appearing 
before Judge Black in a railroad case his definition of the rights and 
limitations of public corporations and the undeveloped or reserved 
powers for their control caused the Judge to describe him as the great- 
est lawyer of the time. But the most celebrated case with which Mr. 
Stanton was ever associated was that of the McCormick reaper. Suit 
was brought here in Cincinnati in 1855 against John H. Manny for an 
infringement of that patent, Stanton, Abraham Lincoln and others 
appearing for the defendant. It was the first meeting of these 
remarkable men and Stanton is said to have been very rude to the 
future president. Nevertheless, his argument captivated Lincoln who 
declared that he was "going home to study law." In this case as in 
nearly all in which he appeared Stanton was successful. 

His second marriage, his removal to Washington and the election 
of James Buchanan, a personal friend, to the presidency all occurred 
in 1856. His close alliance with the administration through Attorney 
General Black brought him business and renewed his interest in the 
Democratic party. At Black's request he went to California as special 
counsel of the United States to investigate various land claims arising 



6 

out of our war with Mexico. He was instructed "to do his utmost to 
protect the interests of the Government" — an injunction wholly unnec- 
essary. He was absent nearly a year and his success, as usual, was 
complete; "for he prevented a stupendous robbery of the Government 
and of San Francisco; settled the land titles of California, and changed 
the character of Pacific Coast civilization." In his own words: "For 
the last few years a set of Mexicans have been plundering the United 
States at the rate of a million a year without any questions being 
asked. Having determined to throw a brick at them, I shall stay to 
see where it hits." During Stanton's absence on the Coast, Lincoln 
met Douglas in joint debate and overcame him, thereby making him- 
self a national figure and a candidate for the presidency. Whether 
Stanton at his distant post heard tidings of his future chief we are not 
informed. 

He had scarcely returned from California before being called upon 
to defend Daniel E. Sickles upon the charge of murder. His client 
had shot Philip Barton Key upon the streets of Washington because 
of an unholy alliance with Mrs. Sickles. This case which Stanton 
fought to a successful conclusion not only gave scope for his marvel- 
ous legal and oratorical powers, but set a precedent for what is com- 
monly know now-a-days as the unwritten law. Stanton justified the 
shooting "on the firmest principles of self-defense;" and the jury so 
held. 

We have thus far considered Mr. Stanton in the light of a lawyer, 
a politician if you please; he now comes upon the stage as a statesman, 
an active worker in behalf of the union and a leader among public men. 
In the campaign of '60 while personally friendly to Breckinridge, he 
believed him to be a sectional candidate, and therefore not entitled to 
election; of Lincoln he knew but little, but feared his radical abolition 
supporters; he therefore hoped for the election of Douglas as a golden 
mean. He frequently expressed the opinion, however, that Lincoln 
would be victorious by a narrow margin and become a minority 
president. In a letter of July 2nd to his Pittsburg partner he said: 
"The Democrats are so entirely divided that none of their candidates 
can win, in my opinion. The Western railsplitter will be technically 
elected, and we shall see great dissension." Verily, he was a true 
prophet in all three particulars! 

Lincoln was elected; South Carolina took immediate steps toward 



secession, and other states were threatening to join her. Buchanan's 
cabinet with its southern majority was fatally divided as to the policy 
to be pursued. Early in December Gen. Cass resigned as Secretary of 
State because the President would not reinforce Maj. Anderson in 
Charleston Harbor. Black was transferred from the law to the state 
department. Stanton while absent on government business was informed 
that the President wished to nominate him as attorney general. His 
hour had come; henceforth he moved upon a higher plane, within a 
larger sphere! His deepest thought, his entire self-sacrifice and 
devotion to the public weal are shown when he writes to a childhood 
friend — "After much hesitation and serious reflection I resolved to 
accept the post to which in my absence I was called in the hope of 
doing something to save this Government. I am willing to perish if 
thereby this union may be saved." Stanton, Black, Holt and Dix in 
Buchanan's reorganized cabinet stood firmly together in foiling the 
conspirators, in arousing the people and in placing the country in as 
good a condition as possible for the impending conflict. When the 
news of Anderson's transfer from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter 
reached Buchanan, he and several of his cabinet condemned him and 
threatened to abandon him. Stanton was aroused and exclaimed, 
"Mr. President, it is my duty as your legal adviser to say that you 
have no right to give up the property of the Government or abandon 
its soldiers to its enemies; and the course proposed is treason, and if 
followed, will involve you and all concerned in it in treason." His 
resignation was put in writing and had Buchanan insisted, Stanton 
would have withdrawn on the instant. He objected as stoutly to the 
President's reception and treatment of the gentlemen claiming to be 
"commissioners" from South Carolina; and his Memorandum to the 
President replying to them was well called by Holt "a wonderful 
paper." Stanton further urged the immediate dispatch of a trusty 
messenger to Maj. Anderson "to let him know that the Government 
will not desert him," and that reinforcements should follow immedi- 
ately. He had the courage to tell Mr. Buchanan that the surrender 
of Fort Sumter by the Government would be a crime equal to the 
crime of Arnold, and that all who participated in the act should be 
hanged! Could Stanton have had his way the seceding senators and 
representatives in Washington would have been arrested and impris- 
oned; in particular would he have made every effort to prevent the 



setting up of the Confederate Government at Montgomery and the 
inauguration of Davis and Stephens. When Buchanan declared that 
it was too late and he helpless, Stanton retorted — "It is never too late 
to save the country. We are not helpless. If we supinely permit 
some upstart to be elected and inaugurated as president at Montgom- 
ery, we shall have to permit the same performance here in Washing- 
ton, if undertaken. . . . Mr. President, there must be no so-called 
inauguration of another president while you occupy that high office, 
fiever, never!" The fact that this and other burning appeals fell 
upon deaf ears was not to /*/$ discredit. 

With the incoming of Mr. Lincoln's administration on March 4, 
1861, Mr. Stanton retired with his chief; but his incumbency of the 
attorney general's office, brief though it was, had brought him prom- 
inently before the country. He had displayed high qualities; was 
recognized as a man of power and resource; and regarded as the back- 
bone of the administration and the author of its measures to save the 
Union. During the remainder of this year, — the first of the war, — 
Mr. Stanton held no office but kept in close touch with public affairs 
by acting as attorney for both General Scott and Secretary Cameron, 
and as confidential counsel for Gen. Dix, commanding in Baltimore. 
He also carried on an exhaustive correspondence with Mr. Buchanan 
in which he hesitated not to criticise Mr. Ljncoln and the administra- 
tion frankly and fully. With the failure of the administration to 
initiate a bold, warlike policy he became as greatly disgusted as he 
had been with Buchanan's. He spoke of the Bull Run disaster as 
follows: "The imbecility of this administration has culminated in 
that catastrophe, and irretrievable misfortune and national disgrace 
are to be added to the ruin of all peaceful pursuits and national bank- 
ruptcy as the result of Lincoln's running the machine for five 
months." In speaking of possible cabinet changes he says that 
beyond the War and Navy Departments none will take place "until 
Jefferson Davis turns out the whole concern." These and many other 
like statements seem harsh, unkind, disloyal even; Stanton has been 
as severely criticised for their use as these strictures are severe upon 
others. But we must remember that he spoke from the standpoint of 
a thoroughly loyal citizen, who had been behind the scenes, had met the 
secessionists and known their power; who accurately gauged the ter- 
rible struggle upon which the country had embarked; and who longed 



9 

with an inexpressible longing that the Government should arise in its 
might and crush secession. 

Events followed one another in rapid succession, even as disaster 
piled upon disaster. Mr. Cameron's continuance in the War office 
became impossible because of a radical difference with Mr. Lincoln in 
the treatment of the slavery question; and the President not knowing 
that Stanton was even more advanced in his views called him to head 
that department. Joseph Holt, of Kentucky, who had done good 
service in Buchanan's cabinet in that very office was his first choice, 
but Seward and other influential persons turned the scale in Stanton's 
favor. When consulted upon the subject Stanton's reply was — "Tell 
the President I will accept if no other pledge than to throttle treason 
shall be exacted." From the day in which he took hold of the War 
office things changed, moved, improved; new life was infused into 
every department; the railway and telegraph lines, those invaluable 
aids, were made to serve the Government and to cease aiding the 
rebellion; those in civil or military life whose loyalty was doubtful 
were watched or dismissed; supplies were purchased at home and not 
abroad and gold ceased to be exported; the financial reports from New 
York and the leading monetary journals announced a "marked 
upward turn and advanced strength" in government securities "owing 
to the change in the War department and the energetic character of the 
new incumbent." 

Who can follow him through the succeeding three years? His 
identity was sunk in the cause; his history becomes largely that of the 
civil war. He was here, there, everywhere, touching everything 
and everybody "as with a rod of fire" — writing, speaking, telegraph- 
ing, advising, suggesting, planning, commanding — working always, 
day and night. No one excepting Lincoln himself worked as hard and 
carried as heavy a burden. The recruiting, examining, enlisting, 
clothing, drilling, arming, transporting, feeding, paying a million 
men — who can conceive of the amount of work involved? "I believe," 
says one who knew him well, "his executive ability was beyond any 
limit the ordinary mind can fix." All records were broken during our 
civil war — as to sums of money expended and number of men 
engaged. It was a mighty trio indeed that Lincoln had about him to 
carry on this stupendous work: Seward kept all foreign hands off dur- 
ing this battle of giants and saw to it that fair play was accorded each 



10 

combatant; Chase raised the immense sums necessary for its prosecu- 
tion; while Stanton wielded with fearful effect on a clear field the 
death-dealing instrument provided. This being a paper upon him and 
not a history of the war, a detailed statement of military movements 
and operations, of defeats and victories, has no place here; nor is it 
mine to defend Stanton when wrong or to claim infallibility for him. 
I hold no brief on his behalf; we are engaged in a study of his life and 
work and are honestly trying to get at the whole truth without fear or 
favor, partiality or hypocrisy. 

Mr. Stanton as a lawyer and Democrat of the Jackson school 
might have been supposed to treat the question of slavery rather 
gingerly and to decline the help of the blacks until necessity obliged 
such a step. But had he been disposed to adopt such a course, events 
would have forced him to change it. Mr. Lincoln though hating 
slavery was at first decidedly opposed to the use of slaves in the army, 
and overruled both officials and generals who favored their enlistment. 
But Blaine well says that even if the Government desired the question 
of slavery kept out of the war, the war would not let the question rest. 
From the outset, at first Bull Run, blacks were busily engaged on the 
Confederate side as teamsters, cooks and laborers in throwing up 
entrenchments. If serviceable to them, why not to us? Lincoln, 
Stanton and all others were agreed that before the war, under the 
Constitution, there was no power in the Executive nor in Congress to 
interfere with slavery in the states; but war changes everything: it 
legislates. Slaves, while technically "persons" under the law were 
in reality "property." As such Stanton claimed the right to seize 
and use them, even as he would have turned against the South cap- 
tured guns, cannon and ammunition. All feeling and passion have long 
since died away upon this subject; so men of all classes, sections and 
parties now hold with Stanton that the Government had the lawful 
right and it was its bounden duty to use every means obtainable for 
self-preservation. No one in Cabinet, Congress or the Army urged 
the employment of blacks or the emancipation of slaves as war meas- 
ures more heartily than Stanton; and when the President's proclama- 
tions were issued he rejoiced and felt that "no blunder and no dis- 
aster could avert the ultimate triumph of our arms." 

The war went on; torrents of blood were poured forth by brave 
men on both sides; awful was the slaughter; desperate were the con- 



11 

ditions. Denounced daily in Congress, on the stump and in the 
press, Stanton, he who was aver}' fury among his fellows yet an angel 
in his family and to the weak and poor, and who "completely melted 
in the presence of children," — held steadily on his course, holding up 
the hands of the President, furnishing the men in the field with 
abundant supplies of every description, enforcing the draft however 
unpopular, allowing nothing to interfere with nor divert him from his 
duty. It was as if he had taken for his motto the cry, "O Neptune, 
you may save me if you will; you may sink me if you will; but what- 
ever happens, I will hold my rudder true." With the full force of an 
aroused North wielded with terrific power, with such an irresistible 
body brought against it, the Confederacy must needs collapse. The 
fall of Richmond, the surrender of Lee and the assassination of the 
man whom Stanton had so stoutly upheld all came as a sudden, a 
startling climax. The first filled him with joy as great as the latter 
brought grief profound. Stanton, this man of iron, watched with 
falling tears the ebbing of his chieftain's life, and when all was over 
darkened the windows and said, "He now belongs to the ages." 

With Stanton's service in the cabinet of Andrew Johnson and sub- 
sequent disagreement with him over the question of reconstruction we 
will not deal; they are beyond the war period and are more likely to 
provoke discusssion and develop differences. But it should be stated 
that his disbanding of our armies and the return of our soldiers to 
their homes was as masterly a work as their first creation. Both 
responded to the wand of the magician! Broken in health, with 
empty purse and no clients and with opposition from Republican sen- 
ators to a vote of thanks by Congress, Stanton eagerly accepted 
President Grant's nomination as an associate justice of the Supreme 
Court. His mind must have reverted to that day five years before when 
Mr. Lincoln offered to make him chief of that court, on condition that 
Stanton would find a man who could be trusted as secretary of war. 
Stanton knew of no such man and lost the prize. Was there ever such 
self-abnegation? Grant's offer, alas, came too late; Stanton was worn 
out. On December 24, 1869 — the month of his birth, his marriage 
and entry into Buchanan's cabinet — he passed away at his home in 
Washington, and three days later was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. 
"Thus this gigantic patriot after superhuman labors lay down to 
rest.'" 



12 

It is altogether true, as charged by his enemies, that he was short, 
sharp, brusque, autocratic. Let it be frankly admitted — with the 
remark that his entire devotion to and absorption by his duties was 
the cause. Lincoln called him "Old Mars" and watched with wonder 
and admiration his dispatch of business. The bounty-jumper, the 
dealer in shoddy, the speculator, the man who should have been at 
the front — all these met short shrift; but for the man behind the gun, 
the boys in the trenches, nothing was too good, — nor for the officer 
leading them on to victory. His first general order to the army was 
a message of thanks and praise for the brilliant victory of Mill Spring; 
and he was ever ready to suitably reward both officers and men. Of 
course he made enemies, many, powerful, bitter, unrelenting, both in 
civil and army life, within his own party as well as in that of the 
opposition; but "we love him for the enemies he made." "To the 
nation's trust he was sublimely true," and retained Lincoln's confi- 
dence and love to the end. Praise from Caesar is praise indeed. Can 
there be higher? Hamilton had not more initiative nor executive 
power; Jackson not more fearlessness nor rugged strength. Long 
before he was clothed with its symbols, "he seemed the embodiment 
of power," testifies one. William of Orange, Hampden, Washington 
and Lincoln were not purer patriots. When he wrote that he was 
willing to perish if the country might be saved, he reached high- 
water mark of patriotism; and he soon had an opportunity to make 
good his brave words, and did so. Laying aside the practice of law 
which some authorities declare was yielding him fifty thousand dollars 
yearly, he accepted an office paying him less than one sixth of that 
sum. His burden was that of the Old Man of the Sea — heavy, crush- 
ing, unceasing. His reputation, political standing, law practice, 
health, peace, his life — all were lost: he did indeed perish! 

Stanton has been criticised more severely for his treatment of two 
generals, McClellan and Stone, than for any other of his numberless 
official acts. Had little Mac been of an opposing political party, the 
cry of politics might have been raised; but Stanton as well as the 
general was a Democrat. There could have been no personal pique 
nor dislike, because McClellan had been a client of his, a visitor at 
his residence, — even an inmate of his family. There is absolutely no 
course left open to the student of history but to state that Stanton and 
McClellan differed radically as to the conduct of the war; and time has 



13 

fully vindicated Stanton's action with regard to him. As to Stone 
whose alleged offence occurred before Stanton became secretary, it is 
freely admitted that he was long detained in prison without trial. In 
time of peace this would have been monstrous; in time of war, harsh 
but necessary. Stanton himself said that individuals were nothing; 
that General Stone in Fort Lafayette was doing his share towards 
saving the union. President Lincoln stated that whether Stone was 
guilty or innocent "circumstances required, as appears to me, such 
proceedings to be had against him for the public safety." As McClel- 
lan gave Stanton the information upon which Stone's arrest was 
ordered, he shares with the secretary the responsibility. Stanton, 
burdened with a thousand duties and advised by parties whose testis 
mony he considered credible, doubtless did a great wrong to a loyal 
officer; but that he sincerely believed his own course to be the best for 
the country is unquestionable. 

This man in the discharge of his duty knew neither friend nor 
foe, neither stranger nor relative, officer nor private, Republican nor 
Democrat, Northerner nor Southerner. The Southern Democrat or 
Whig with slaves but loyal to ihe union was nearer his heart than the 
Northern Republican who denounced Lincoln, or the abolitionist who 
inveighed against preserving the union. His eye was single; hence, 
his whole body was full of light. No maiden wedding her lover, no 
vestal virgin keeping the sacred fire ever burning in the temple, no 
nun taking the deathless vows of poverty, chastity and obedience had 
more complete devotion or made a more entire dedication than this 
man to the cause of the union. He knew instinctively and instantly 
what to do and how to do it. If it was true of Henry Clay that he 
knew the remedy before others discovered the disease, how much more 
so of Stanton? It was said of Napoleon that he thought quicker and 
better than other men — it is true of this latter-day Napoleon. But he 
firmly believed in a higher power than his own; he looked beyond his 
own strength and leaned upon a stronger arm. Often would he retire 
within his private office and pray for the country, for the people, for 
Mr. Lincoln, for himself; and when men like Bishop Simpson of the 
Methodist Church called upon him, he would ask them to offer prayer 
for these objects. His writings, public and private, his conversation 
and speeches, all were full of trust in God and acknowledgments of 
His gracious favor when victory was vouchsafed to us. 



14 

In these days of graft and when the use of public office as a 
private perquisite has become a fine art, it is refreshing to read of one 
who received nothing but his salary and who declined to use his great 
office for personal ends. With boundless opportunities for speculation 
and self-aggrandizement, he absolutely declined to take advantage of 
them or to profit at his country's expense. His integrity was perfect; 
his honor, spotless. No Cato was more strict or sternly virtuous; 
Caesar's wife not more above suspicion. A former law student and 
partner who hoped to secure a Government contract for a friend while 
visiting the Secretary was told — "No talk on business here, William; 
I'll hear you at the Department to-morrow." Surely he had clean 
hands. 

Pardon one word of a personal nature. My maternal grand- 
father, Dr. William Sparrow, was this man's teacher at Kenyon 
College; received him into the Episcopal Church by the sacrament of 
baptism; and assisted in his burial service. These form a triple tie, 
which is enlarged and strengthened by the possession of a father's 
commission as chaplain in the army bearing that well known signature 
and constituting a priceless family heirloom. 

Edwin McMasters Stanton has been gone from the sight of his 
fellow men for two score years. Practically all of the leaders, civil 
and military, on both sides are gone. The cry of "On to Richmond" 
has ceased; Sherman's bummers are no longer "Marching through 
Georgia;" and "the rebel rides on his raid no more." Many men, 
however, now living knew Stanton personally; and among them the 
members of the Loyal Legion would naturally be foremost. Nearly 
every officer's commission bears his signature as well as that of the 
martyr President. Who is not proud of that bit of parchment? Who 
would exchange it for gold? It attests the loyalty and devotion of 
him whose name it bears upon its face; it preserves for future genera- 
tions the signatures of the two men most identified with the mighty 
struggle to preserve the union. If the South in less than half a cen- 
tury has realized, in spite of her awful losses in men and money, the 
value of a union preserved, how much more will future generations, 
both North and South, rise up and call these two blessed, Lincoln the 
Liberator and Stanton the Great War Secretary. And when the long 
roll of heroes performing each his part in that terrible civil strife 
shall have been made up by impartial History, the name of Edwin 



15 

McMasters Stanton will, like that of his Chief, Abraham Lincoln, 
appear in the dual light of Hero and Martyr; and History scanning 
that glorious list will find that lo! with that one exception the name 
of Stanton leads all the rest. 



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